Avalanche hits Jawahar Tunnel, NH blocked

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, January 22

An avalanche blocked the Jawahar Tunnel on Tuesday leading to the shutdown of the Srinagar-Jammu highway, snapping surface connectivity between the Kashmir valley and the rest of the country for the second consecutive day.

The avalanche hit the tunnel, the 2.8-km dual-tube passage which connects the Valley’s Qazigund town with Banihal town in the Jammu region. It serves as an important connector between Kashmir and Jammu divisions.

An official of the traffic police said the avalanche blocked both the tubes of the tunnel from the Qazigund side as it buried the area under 15-foot snow.

The official said men and machinery had been put on the job to clear the snow. “There is no immediate report of any casualty,” the official said.

The 300-km Srinagar-Jammu highway is a crucial surface link for transporting essential commodities as well as for passenger traffic. The highway was shutdown on Monday after heavy snowfall.

The Valley received the seventh spell of snowfall this week while the weather department had forecast large-scale disruptions to surface and air traffic.

The latest spell continued intermittently on Tuesday across the region with light to moderate rain and snowfall, which also caused disruptions at the Srinagar airport as flights were delayed.

Sonum Lotus, director of Srinagar Meteorological Centre, said the storm system had now moved towards Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and “significant improvement” in weather in the state is expected.

The official advised people living in snow-bound areas to “remain vigilant and take precautions” as there was a possibility of snow-slides and avalanches.